Ji Jiafu

Ji Jiafu FACS, FRCS (; born 1959) is a Chinese surgical oncologist and researcher specializing in gastrointestinal malignancy. He is a professor in gastrointestinal surgery at Peking University, the director of the Key Laboratory in "Malignancy Pathogenesis and Translational Research" under the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, a fellow of the Chinese Academy of the Medical Sciences (CAMS), an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), and a recipient of the Special Government Allowances of the State Council.

Ji is most notable for his effort in promoting the standardization of gastric cancer treatment in China as well as his leading role in the construction of the world's largest gastric cancer biobank. He received the State Scientific and Technological Progress Award for his achievements.

Ji is currently serving as the council chairman of the Beijing Anti-Cancer Association. He is also an honorary president of the Beijing Association of Holistic Integrative Medicine. He served as the president of Peking University Cancer Hospital / School of Oncology & Beijing Institute for Cancer Research and vice president of the China Anti-Cancer Association. He was also the president of the International Gastric Cancer Association from 2017-2019.

Biography

Early life and education Ji Jiafu was born in December 1959 in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia.

In 1977, Ji took the first gaokao after the Cultural Revolution and was admitted to the Inner Mongolia Medical College; he graduated with a bachelor's degree in December 1982. By 2019, the biobank had stored more than two million samples and contributed to 104 research projects, including the International Cancer Genome Consortium.

From 2006 to 2014, Ji participated in the capecitabine and oxaliplatin adjuvant study in stomach cancer (CLASSIC) study, in which he was the principal investigator for the Chinese subgroup. His results showed that in patients with advanced gastric cancer, the adjuvant capecitabine and oxaliplatin (CAPOX) chemotherapy increased the 3-year disease-free survival rate after gastrectomy with D2 lymphadenectomy from 56% to 78%, hence establishing CAPOX as the preferred option of peri-operative treatment for gastric cancer in China. The congress was a great success: there were 3,816 participants from 48 countries across the world, and 1,245 abstracts had been submitted including 99 oral presentations and 540 posters.

In 2017, Ji was awarded the Second Class State Scientific and Technological Progress Award for developing "key techniques in building an integrated system for the prevention and treatment of gastric cancer."

In 2019, Ji completed the world's first phase III randomized controlled trial on laparoscopic D2 gastrectomy and published his results on JAMA. He is also serving as a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) (2018-) and was a member of the Beijing CPPCC (2003-2018).

Honours and awards

2025, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering 2022, Fellowship of the Chinese Academy of the Medical Sciences 2020, Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Award, Medical and Pharmaceutical Award 2018, Alumni Awards, Professional Achievement Award 2017, State Scientific and Technological Progress Award, Second Class 2016, Outstanding Achievement Award for Scientific Research in Colleges and Universities (Science and Technology Advancement Award) of the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, First Class 2016, China Medical Science and Technology Award, First Class 2015, WuXi PharmaTech Life Science and Chemistry Awards, Outstanding Achievements Award 2014, Wu Jieping-Paul Janssen Medical - Pharmaceutical Award 2013, Science and Technology Award of Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, First Class 2012, Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Award, Third Class

Selected bibliography

Sijin Cheng, Ziyi Li, Ranran Gao... Zhaode Bu#, and Jiafu Ji#, Zemin Zhang#. Accepted. A pan-cancer single-cell landscape of tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells. Cell. 2021 Feb 04;184(3).https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2021.01.010 (As correspondence author) Zhang, X., Liang, H., Li, Z., Xue, Y., Wang, Y., Zhou, Z.. . . Ji, J#. Perioperative or Postoperative Adjuvant OXALIPLATIN with S-1 VERSUS Adjuvant OXALIPLATIN WITH CAPECITABINE in patients with locally Advanced gastric or gastro-oesophageal junction Adenocarcinoma undergoing D2 Gastrectomy (resolve): An Open-label, superiority AND NON-INFERIORITY, Phase 3 randomised controlled trial. Lancet Oncol. 2021 Jul 9. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1470-2045(21)00297-7 Li Z, Gao X, Peng X... Liang H, and Ji J#. Multi-omics characterization of molecular features of gastric cancer correlated with response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Sci Adv. 2020 Feb 26;6(9). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aay4211 (As correspondence author) Yin S, Xi R, Wu A... Li Z, and J. Ji#, and J. Xi#. Patient-derived tumor-like cell clusters for drug testing in cancer therapy. Science Translational Medicine, 2020 Jun 24;12(549). https://doi.org/10.1126/scitranslmed.aaz1723 (As correspondence author) Yu J, Huang C, Sun Y... Chen P, and Ji J#, Li G#. Effect of Laparoscopic vs Open Distal Gastrectomy on 3-Year Disease-Free Survival in Patients With Locally Advanced Gastric Cancer: The CLASS-01 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA. 2019 May 28; 321(20):1983-1992. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2019.5359 (As correspondence author) Li Z, Shan F, Ying X... Su X, and Ji J#. Assessment of Laparoscopic Distal Gastrectomy After Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy for Locally Advanced Gastric Cancer: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Surg. 2019 Dec 1;154(12):1093-1101. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamasurg.2019.3473 (As correspondence author) Dong D, Tang L, Li ZY... and Tian J#, Ji J#. Development and validation of an individualized nomogram to identify occult peritoneal metastasis in patients with advanced gastric cancer. Ann Oncol. 2019 Mar 1;30(3):431-438. https://doi.org/10.1093/annonc/mdz001 (As correspondence author) Xing R, Zhou Y, Yu J... Ji J#, Fang X#, and Lu Y#. Whole-genome sequencing reveals novel tandem-duplication hotspots and a prognostic mutational signature in gastric cancer. Nat Commun. 2019 May 2; 10(1):2037. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-09644-6 (As correspondence author) Zong L, Abe M, Seto Y, Ji J#. The challenge of screening for early gastric cancer in China. Lancet. 2016 Nov 26;388(10060):2606. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)32226-7 (As correspondence author) Sullivan R, Alatise OI, Anderson BO... Ji JF... Wu YL, Zeiton M, and Purushotham A. Global cancer surgery: delivering safe, affordable, and timely cancer surgery. Lancet Oncol. 2015 Sep;16(11):1193-224. https://doi.org/10.1016/s1470-2045(15)00223-5 (As China's key deputy of Global Cancer Surgery program) Bang YJ, Kim YW, Yang HK... Kim YH, Ji J, Yeh TS, Button P, Sirzén F, and Noh SH; CLASSIC trial investigators. Adjuvant capecitabine and oxaliplatin for gastric cancer after D2 gastrectomy (CLASSIC): a phase 3 open-label, randomized controlled trial. Lancet. 2012 Jan 28;379(9813):315-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(11)61873-4 (As the principal investigator in China.)